


journey

by abandonment (ihunger)



Series: Comfortember [1]
Category: Metalocalypse (Cartoon)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27407152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihunger/pseuds/abandonment
Summary: Charles went undercover to several places while he was "dead". He rescued someone from one of those places.--Self indulgent, tooth-rotting self-insert fluff. Elias' backstory may be explored more later, but I focus more on hurt/comfort than whump.--Days 1 through 5 of Comfortember: Rescue, First Day/Night, Nightmare, Anxiety, Cuddling.
Relationships: Charles Foster Offdensen/Original Male Character
Series: Comfortember [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2002312
Kudos: 4





	journey

“ _What is your name?”_

_Elias stared down at the piece of paper in front of him, knowing that the answer was written there and yet he could not read it. Any letters or words he managed to discern just turned into gibberish. His name was nowhere to be found. A laugh sounded above him, harsh and mocking._

“ _Oh dear,” the voice said, “You think you have a name. If you have one, why can’t you remember it? I think you’re lying to me.”  
  
“I have a name,” Elias replied, unhappy with how his voice toyed at the edge of pleading. “I have a name, I just can’t – I can’t remember it right now, but I have one-” The more he spoke, the less sense he was making to himself. Perhaps the woman above him was right. Maybe he didn’t have a name at all and decided to play with fire knowing that he would not win. He found no comfort in the people around him, the laughing that was spreading through everyone that watched him stumble his way through pretending he was a person. _

_He knew this was stupid, so he let them laugh. Buried his head in his hands and wept, because -_

“Elias.”

Elias jerked awake, his chest heaving as he attempted to take in as much air as he could. Above him was not that woman, but rather the man who had saved Elias from her. Charles looked different without his glasses, a little less scary and softer around the eyes. The man’s hand was placed on Elias’ chest.

“Are you alright?” Charles asked, voice tinged with worry. “You started crying in your sleep, I thought you were-”

Elias nodded. “Just a nightmare,” he said. “I forgot my name again.”

The hand on Elias’ chest began to work its fingers in a circle to massage the bare skin beneath. Elias could barely fit into any of Charles’ clothes, being taller and skinnier, which left him clad only in a tight pair of pajama pants. Charles had promised that they’d get him some clothes that fit later. No matter if that was true or not, Elias found the massage comforting. At least, it distracted him.

“You aren’t going to forget again. Your name is Elias, and you’re here with me. Do you want to sit up?”

Elias hummed before asking, too quiet for himself to really register, “Can you lay down with me?”

Charles said nothing, just slid back under the blanket and held Elias close. Once, Elias would have found this a miserable experience. With Charles, though, it felt safer than anything. The man had strong arms and a stronger mind. Whatever happened, Charles could deal with it.

“They’re going to come back for me. I think they’re going to find me again and they’re going to take you too.”

“We have state of the art defense systems, guards upon guards, and live in the middle of nowhere. You’re going to be okay, Elias. I, uh, dealt with them anyways. The Church disposed of them.”

Elias closed his eyes. Just 24 hours earlier, he and Charles were in the middle of what both of them would later come to call the worst situation of their lives. Charles undercover for some Church, gathering information on some sort of cult related to the Revengencers (a word that Elias had never heard before and found terrible hard to pronounce), and Elias at the very bottom rung of that cult. His name was forgotten, his life abandoned, because they had taken those things from him. Even now, his past life was vague. He remembered a desk, an apartment, a job, but that was all. Any friends or family he might have had were long gone, washed away in years of brainwashing and abuse.

Now, though, it was night and he was in bed with a man who had risked life and limb to save him. In the depths of Mordhaus, belonging to some band that Charles managed, there was no monotony for Elias to get lost in. Charles had reunited with the band just hours before, and came to bed looking exhausted and more than a little drunk, leaving Elias to wonder what exactly had made Charles leave in the first place.

Wasn’t Elias’ business, he supposed. Blissful ignorance was something he would cling to for as long as he could.

“Tell me about your band,” Elias said, “I… I want to meet them.”  
  
“Well, they’re a death metal band called Dethklok. They, uh, are the best selling band in the world and the 8th biggest economy in the world.”  
  
“The band is? How can a band be an economy?”

“You’re, uh, asking the wrong person on how they got so popular. They are destructive, childish, selfish, and all around a pain in the ass to manage. But, uh, I’m quite fond of them. I take care of them the best I can. Business and all that, and uh, other things. We’re all happy that we’re back to where things were.” As Charles spoke, the fondness that he had for these men became clear in his voice. In a way, Elias was almost jealous. How perfect would one have to be to be blessed with the love of a man that was so strong? Even in the just few weeks that they’d known each other, Elias found himself falling head over heels by the moment. Unfortunately, though, he knew how this would end. He was undeserving of that sort of love.

“They sound like a lot.”  
  
“They are. But uh, if you want to meet them, we can do that once you get settled a little more. I think right after I… rescued you, you’ll need some time to recover.”  
  
“I’m doing fine,” Elias insisted, “I can start working again soon.”

Almost immediately, the hug that Elias was in tightened. Not to the point of pain, but enough for Elias to recognize he misspoke. With an apology on the tip of his tongue, he was interrupted before he could speak.  
  
“You’re not doing fine. You were tortured and abused for years. You need – and deserve – time to recover. I won’t get mad at you for not working, Elias. You are worth more than just as – as manual labor.” While his voice was filled with venom, Charles was not angry at Elias and even Elias could see that. The anger was directed at the people who did this to him, to the woman who had hurt him so much. Even if it made his skin itch and his anxiety flare, the idea of not working, he wasn’t going to disagree.

“Thank you. You, uh, you’re too…” Elias trailed off. He knew Charles would be disappointed in him if he kept attempting to put himself down, so he changed his tune. “I… appreciate all you’ve done for me. Rescuing me and – and uhm. Helping me remember who I was.”

Charles pressed his nose into the back of Elias’ neck. “The journey has just begun, Elias. I will be with you every step of the way.”


End file.
